How To Start A Copywriting Business

By Author: Jesse Ross
Total Articles: 38
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One of the most fun and interesting businesses you can have is to start a copywriting business. It is actually quite easy to get started if you do it right. Here are some fast-start tips that will get you profitable quickly.
In order to start a copywriting business you first need clients. But if you don't have experience it is difficult to get anyone to hire you. A good place to get some practice and make a few bucks at the same time is to go to elance.com. Simply register for a membership so you can bid on jobs. When something that you think comes along, bid whatever it takes to get the assignment.
If you do a good job the "employer" will give you a good rating. Once you have received a few good ratings you will be able to command a higher price for your work.
The next step in starting a copywriting business is to make a move to your local area by looking in the Yellow Pages. Try to find businesses that have needs similar to the ones you serviced on elance.com. Make a phone call to find out who is in charge of their advertising.
In the beginning go for smaller businesses. The problem in dealing with ...
... large companies is that you never know who the actual decision maker is. That makes it harder when you are just starting your copywriting business. In a small company the decision maker is usually either the owner or his wife. If the owner is a woman, she is probably the decision maker for advertising and budgeting.
Now, this kind of work is fine if you are just getting started but you won't be making much money or having too much fun if you continue doing this for a long time. The reason for this is that small companies don't have a big budget for copywriting. In most cases they are just struggling along trying to muster up some budget for basic printing and distribution.
However, for the sake of getting a reputation you can start with small projects that don't pay very well and grow into better paying ones as you develop a portfolio and references. You have to have the right strategy when you start a copywriting business or you will get lost in the world of working hard and not getting paid much.
Once you do some good work for a few small businesses that are willing to be a reference for you, you start playing the "who do you know" game.
Every new client that is happy with you would know of other business owners. You keep asking your new and old customers who they know that does some advertising that they wouldn't mind introducing to you. Each time you go back and ask the question they would have at least one or two people they can refer to you. This is the start of a profitable copywriting business.
As your circle of contacts grows you will get to know bigger and smaller businesses and you will get enough jobs to make a decent living. However you will end up doing a lot of hard work and may not end up having much fun. That is not what you wanted when you decided to start a copywriting business.
In order to have the career of your dreams you need to specialize in an area that interests you. This will make sure you are having fun. The other advantage of specializing is that you will get to know an industry and you will gain a good reputation. A good reputation means you will be able to prove the value of your work with real numbers taken from past successes.
When you approach businesses with provable numbers you will be able to command a higher price and even a portion of the profits derived from your work. This is where the big money is and this is where the fun is. At this point you would be involved in work that you are interested in and you have the clout to command a high price.
If you stay in this field, your work will get easier and easier because you would have already done the detailed, time consuming research work needed to write effective copy. That means you would be able to get paid very well working out effective marketing strategies and special offers rather than being stuck doing basic, ground level work. Dreaming up strategies and testing them is fun and interesting.
The whole process of starting a copywriting business that is fun and highly profitable can take a year or two. During this time you will learn a lot about business and especially about marketing.
It would be worth your while to learn as much as possible about direct marketing. This is the kind of marketing that allows you to measure your results. When you can measure your results you have the opportunity to show your prospective clients what you can do. When you can prove your worth you will have a much easier time getting the clients you want to work with rather than being forced to take whatever you can get.
This is how you start a copywriting business that will give you the ability to have all the money you could want along with the time to really enjoy your life.

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